The Red Badge of Courage



"Young Henry Fleming leaves his mother on the farm to join the Union Army during the Civil War. He is discouraged by his regiment's lack of action, but when the time arrives to fight, he runs. Once Henry finds his way back to his people (after the battle), they accept him back in and nurse the wound they think he received during the fighting. Henry goes on to fight like a little tiger, hoping to prove to himself that he's worthy of their esteem." Sarah, Resident Scholar

"The Red Badge of Courage" is indeed a timeless masterpiece of American fiction. It is easy to understand why it ranks alongside such great American novels as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," and "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee. "The Red Badge of Courage" is a book to be read and savored!" **The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)**

"I liked this book for a few reasons. For one, it's so nice to actually see a character develop and have very human flaws as Henry did and go to possible redemption at the end. In addition, the novel as others have said is a short, but surprisingly accurate depiction of war and not just a rosy outlook in which the main character is flawless from start to finish as well as the war in general for the North. Lastly, the length makes it a very enjoyable novel that you can finish in a day or so." Travis Stein

"Crane has a weird, impressionist writing style showing the battle fields of the American Civil War as seen through the eyes of Pvt. Henry Flemming. Unlike all the other editions, Crane's story is fully restored here in this W. W. NORTON edition, republished for the first time since 1889, with Crane's complete exploration of why a person acts courageously in war. This is the only edition of the complete novel before editors got their hands on it." GG Gawain


"At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way... he wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage."

"For some moments he could not flee, no more than a little finger can commit a revolution from a hand."

"He had performed his mistakes in the dark, so he was still a man."




Video #1: I chose this video because I thoght it thoughtfully described the book and what it was all about. Truthfully, the move clip is describing the actual movie, The Red Badge of Courage, as well as praising the many actors that had a hand in the making of the major motion picture. However, I thought that it clearly depicted some of the characters of the book and a few small scenes as well like the conversation in the tent.

Video #2: This movie, I thought, depicted the final battle scene very well. This is when Henry shows his courage by fearlessly leading his redgiment on into the fray of the battle and catching the flag as its bearer was shot. This was one of the final steps that he took to earning his "red badge of courage.

Quote #1: When Henry looked upon the many wounded soldiers he encountered right after he had fled from the field of battle, he felt guilty and wished that he had a "red badge of courage". This is a way of viewing the red badge of courage as a physical wound obtained while doing your job and fighting in the grim face of war. This specific quote stuck out to me because it had the title in it for one thing as well as the fact that he was defining the red badge of courage. Qoute #2: This quote was taken from chapter five as young Henry is first introduced to the terrors of battle. His instinct told him to run and escape the onslaught of enemy forces sweeping across the fields and forests. Yet deep inside himself he felt like he belonged to a group, his regiment, and that group was in a crisis. this little feeling caused him to stay and fight, thus the finger can commit a revolution of the hand. Quote #3: When later in the first day of the battle the young soldier fled the from the smoke and gunfire and thus labeled himself a coward. Then, when night came he slowly and luckily wandered back to his regiment. He lied and said that he had gotten separated and not that he ran like a chicken. Because no one noticed that he had ran, he was still an average "man" of the regiment.